@Devs: Can this game be played offline in single? Local Splitscreen?

[v00d00m4n]

Still thinking if i need to buy it, i prefere to play survival games alone from time to time and dont want other players to ruin my progress, also i dont like game to be internet and server depand.

Will this game satisfy me? Is Single player offline possible or not?

Is there a system of drop in and drop out for players? Can i play single for a while, invite friend or open game for some random people and kick them if dont like what they do in my play session and keep playing offline single after this?

And what about split screen? Would i be able to play just with my gf offline on single PC using split screen?

If none of this possible, devs, please consider adding such possibilities to game.

[Ultimate Fury]

yes it can be, and it is quite fun imo even in SP. You just have to take things slower than you would with a group of people to help

[Kweeny]

yes Single mode is Host/Local play

Idk about the split screen

[Umbra]

It's an amazing game, but beware singleplayer... you can't craft everything. You need to pick.

[Moga CMDR]

split screen is really a console thing. its rare on consoles nowadays. I can't imagine they would waste resources on that.

You can play SP offline right now.

[Pattisaurusrex]

I'm not really sure how well a survival game would work in splitscreen. That's more a console "Couch Lan" sort of thing, there is no split screen in ARK.

Singleplayer is just the same thing as the online game. With time and effort you should be able to accomplish whatever you want. However, it is possible to set up your own server, so if your girlfriend gets the game as well you two can play together. Password protect it and you won't have any issues with people getting in.

[v00d00m4n]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Raptor Jesus:

I'm not really sure how well a survival game would work in splitscreen. That's more a console "Couch Lan" sort of thing, there is no split screen in ARK.

Singleplayer is just the same thing as the online game. With time and effort you should be able to accomplish whatever you want. However, it is possible to set up your own server, so if your girlfriend gets the game as well you two can play together. Password protect it and you won't have any issues with people getting in.

There is nothing consolish about split screen, i really hate all this "racism" when some PC gamers tries to bound gamepads, splitscreen and stuff like that to consoles, without realising that it works pretty well on pc, even better it would work same way as online co-op except that both playes using same PC and same display, and in case someone has 2 displayes local coop split screen could be split into 2 separate displays.

As for progress, im not sure if this game allows to create profiles before you start game, but that would not be hard to patch in to create several profiles with survival progress for each, and then when coop session starts any of such profiles can be selected by another player, and the progress would be saved to both profiles.

Setting own server still requires two copies of game, 2 pc, and doulbe space to play together, and most likely from different rooms, have you ever seen 2 pc standing together next to each other? That why split screen is needed so that too people can actually play together physically, next to each other, without extra expenses, without extra space, without extra pc and so on.


So thanks for clearing this up, now i want to know how is transition between offline and online game is done here? Hows progress saved? Can you play SP for a while, then open it up for friends only or everyone to join without restarting? can you go back to sp from mp? Does it has single progression for both modes or it stored separately? If you will join someones else game, will it override your progress or not?

[Mansen]

Singpleplayer offline? Yes
Co-Op? Yes - With one copy for each player and their own computer
Split-Screen? No. Also probably never going to happen because of the massive performance drain.

[v00d00m4n]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Mansen:

Singpleplayer offline? Yes
Co-Op? Yes - With one copy for each player and their own computer
Split-Screen? No. Also probably never going to happen because of the massive performance drain.

I doubt that, all world simulation stuff is counted single time, only second render target is required for extra viewport, and resolution of both almost doulbe lower. Performance drain would not be that massive. Plus settings for graphcis exist in pc games so anyone could find sweet spot between performance and quality.

[Mansen]

Yes it would - You're looking at a lot more potential textures that needs to be kept in an already overextended VRAM buffer, just to name one obvious problem.

There's a reason why consoles don't really do Split-Screen anymore (at least without having to come to terms with reducing the overall visuals as a direct result) The performance cost is far too obvious compared to single screen performance.

[v00d00m4n]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Mansen:

Yes it would - You're looking at a lot more potential textures that needs to be kept in an already overextended VRAM buffer, just to name one obvious problem.

There's a reason why consoles don't really do Split-Screen anymore (at least without having to come to terms with reducing the overall visuals as a direct result) The performance cost is far too obvious compared to single screen performance.

Thanks captain obvious, but you overestimating resource consumptions of split screen.

we are not on consoles, my pc can handle way more than crapbox one, especially after i overclocked CPU for extra 1.2 ghz and GPU for extra 500 mhz, i do have 4gb of VRAM with almost 2 extra gb rarely used in games, and have 16 gb of RAM which i have nothing to fill with, and its not even uber modern PC, Most of modern PCs will handle split screen with full graphics just fine, relax already and start thinking outside of xbox.

[Mansen]

The fact that you're throwing around terms like "crapbox one" and "uber pc" quite perfectly shows how little you actually know about the topic you're trying to fake knowledge of.

An Xbox is a PC at the end of the day - A developer is not going to develop a complex feature for the sole application of the highest common denominator. It is too costly compared to the gain.

Economics 101.

[v00d00m4n]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Mansen:

The fact that you're throwing around terms like "crapbox one" and "uber pc" quite perfectly shows how little you actually know about the topic you're trying to fake knowledge of.

An Xbox is a PC at the end of the day - A developer is not going to develop a complex feature for the sole application of the highest common denominator. It is too costly compared to the gain.

Economics 101.

The fact that you talk like this show only that you want to look like you know something better than others to please your ego, but in fact you dont... i bet if you knew that i am gamedev myself who just like devs of this game uses same unreal engine 4...

(which means, not like you i actually know engine, its hardware requirements and how well it perfroms in different conditions, including split screen... especially split screen, because i use technique similar to coop split screen, i use separate render target for NPC pov with real time OpenCV powered Motion tracking, for simulation of of realistic vision, and im actually using several render targets for that, which is far more heavy than using one rt for split screen)

... that would probably stop you from saying such things to not look stupid. But you already did, enjoy your ego boost while it stands, and thanks for lolz:-)

All developers are different, while most stick to similar less risky patterns they stil do thing other devs dont do, i do, for example developing features for highest common denominator, which is PC, actually i dont give a crack about lowest common denominator at all - which is xbox one, at earlier stages i was considering if im going to develop my game for consoles as well, but they are too weak and outdated to achive my goals (very realistic approach to AI and physics) and would hold me back, so i gone PC only route. I used, use, and will use terms "crapbox" and "uber pc" because its a freaking fact - consoles holding back progress of game industry almost 2 decades, and there are little number of devs with balls who does not sold their asses to console market and try to push gaming to limits which is only possible on PC, since this platform does not stagnate decade like consoles thanks to upgrades and overclock.



But hey you dont know me and my project yet so im probably not the best example, but here another one - Star Citizen. They said ♥♥♥♥ economics, ♥♥♥♥ consoles, ♥♥♥♥ lowest common denominators, and they are greatest source of inspiration and example that every dev, who cares about making really good games, should follow.

And devs of ARK seems to me more like that kind of devs, who would not follow lowest common denominator route and would risk doing something not everybody does. They already showed they have balls to do things better thant many of others does. And you dare to talk to them like they are generic call of duty kind of developers,


So throw your lowest common denominators and economics 101 to window and learn that all devs are different and you cant speak for them all, and for Darwin sake, stop being so stupid and jump to conclusions that comes out of nowhere (like "oh u said uber pc and crapbox that shows that you nothing, Snow" - thats bullcrap) if you want to look like smart and not like ass. You'll never know who you talking to, at least do some background checks by looking at profiles. XD

Gamedev 101.

Anyway, in not going to discuss anything with you further, you gone offtopic and started flame, used Ad Hominem on me, so go twitch yourself :-)

[Moga CMDR]

Consoles did not hold gaming back, it helped actually...Numbers don't lie.

Only thing you can blame about gaming stagnation was consolidation in the industry where everyone was trying to be bigger and badder than everyone else and make mainstream AAA games(me toos, clones, boring).

Now we have more indies making games that cater to niches instead of trying to make the same old run of the mill crud that always sells.

[v00d00m4n]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Doug Rattmann:

FYI, hes the one keeping name calling out of the discussion, and keeping it to short texts, and he kept it ontopic...

Nope, size does not matter, this

"The fact that you're throwing around terms like "crapbox one" and "uber pc" quite perfectly shows how little you actually know about the topic you're trying to fake knowledge of."

was a clear ad hominem ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem ) personal atack of attention ♥♥♥♥♥ who just wanted to look smarter than he really is.

Talking about persons (which he started) instead of talking about game is offtopic. If you guys has nothing to say on subject about game - say nothing, im not interested to discuss offtopic.



So, i still dont have any info of how saves handled in this game when you hosting and when you join someone else? Hows your progress synced with progress of others? Hows conflict of progress is solved in this game?

For example you play single, build something at A point, what would happen if you will join someone server and someone else already has something different at point A or nothing at all.
Will you creation spawn for him and unspawn once you quit? Or entire progress is host controlled and anything left by clients will remain in host save game? Any other way of how this works?

[zOvi]

i play "split screen" all the time with my daughter on ark sometimes while the cousins play minecraft (all on same pc) most pc of 4 cores 8gb ram with 5gb+ video card has enough power to multiplay/splitscreen on single pc with proper cooling so very possible with todays new desktop pcs specific details to accomplish this pm me for detail